


send-off

by IronSwordStarShield (SweetFanfics)



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: (ex) Director Stark, Commander Rogers, Fluff, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, twists canon around: look! i made a giraffe!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 12:42:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20564510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetFanfics/pseuds/IronSwordStarShield
Summary: It’s time. Tony breathes out a sigh of relief as he straightens up. Being the Director of SHIELD has been one of his least favorite things. Easily in the top 3 hardest experiences of his life. But now that Steve’s back to full health and Tony’s convinced Nick to take the mantle up again, he can go back to being plain old Tony Stark, futurist, engineer, billionaire, Avenger.





	send-off

**Author's Note:**

> [sings] it’s my party and i’ll ignore canon if i want to~ (angsty civil war endings? we don’t know her today)
> 
> Inspired by [](https://hellogarbagetime.tumblr.com/post/181525197714></a>this%20BEAUTIFUL%20fanart</a>%20by%20@hellogarbagetime%0A%0A<img%20src=)

Tony stares down at his full box with a certain level of bemusement; he hadn’t thought he’d got _that _much stuff in his SHIELD office but clearly the full box says otherwise. Granted it’s mostly a lot of technological doo-dads, scraps of papers scribbled with unintelligible notes, and one potted plant he’d received from the staff upon joining, but it’s still a full box.

He’s double checking the desk drawers for any stragglers when he hears a knock on the door. Looking up, Tony sees Steve standing in the doorway and smiles. 

“Commander.”

“Dir-Tony,” Steve corrects himself with a tiny smile. “We’ve got a car waiting for you.”

It’s time. Tony breathes out a sigh of relief as he straightens up. Being the Director of SHIELD has been one of his least favorite things. Easily in the top 3 hardest experiences of his life. But now that Steve’s back to full health and Tony’s convinced Nick to take the mantle up again, he can go back to being plain old Tony Stark, futurist, engineer, billionaire, Avenger. 

Tony plops the top onto the box and tucked it under his arm. “Lead the way, Commander.”

Steve shoots him a look, _You can call me Steve, _the blond telegraphs.

Tony answers with a look of his own, _You’re the one who said we needed to be professional whenever we’re at SHIELD_.

With a low tongue click, Steve places his hand low on Tony’s back and gently guides him down the corridor. Tony’s surprised to note how many people are milling around today. They’re probably glad to see him go… He wasn’t cut out for this job, not by a long shot. It’d taken everything in him to hold onto every thread in his grasp and keep everything from falling apart. The consequence was that he wasn’t very popular within the agency. That’s what he’d believed anyways (all the ‘helpful’ comments in the suggestion box certainly hasn’t assuaged that belief). 

It’s why he’s surprised when most of the agents stop what they’re doing and throw him a sharp salute. If it weren’t for Steve urging him along, Tony would have stopped in his tracks in surprise. His shock continues to rise when they arrive outside on the landing deck. _Everyone’s _here, including Nick and Maria.

Tony’s eyes fly between the crowd, Nick, and Steve’s amused face. “What’s going on?” he finally asks Steve.

Steve’s lips give in and turn up, up, up. “You didn’t think you wouldn’t get _some _kind of a send-off, did you?”

“I was expecting rotten eggs and cabbages more than this,” Tony admits under his breath.

Steve’s hand rubs soothing lines into his spine. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s true! Half the shit I pulled was terrible and we almost lost the Skrull War because I came _this close_ to not installing the Extremis anti-virus upgrades Reed and Maya’d made for me.”

“Almost but didn’t,” Fury points out. Tony’s attention diverts to Steve as he pulls the box out of Tony’s hands. “You kept the wolves at bay and made sure we didn’t drown. Surviving, even if its by the skin of our teeth, is still a victory.”

_Tell that to the people who died, _Tony thinks glumly. For a heartbeat, he entertains the wild notion that Steve’s suddenly developed the ability to read minds because as soon Tony thinks that, Steve shoots him a sharp look. Like he knew what Tony just thought. 

“It was a shit show in the middle, don’t get me wrong,” Fury’s going on. “But you did good Stark. You played your part.”

“And I never want to do it again, so help me God.” It’s a little scary how much he means that. There’s some part of him that’s never going to forgive Fury for faking Steve’s death. Sure in the long run, it’d worked out beautifully. Osborn never saw Steve and his team coming and had wound up outing himself on national television. They’d fought back-to-back when the Skrulls invaded and won. But thinking back to the moment where he thought he'd lost Steve...

Tony’s mind flits like a butterfly around the memory of finding out that Steve had died, hovering around the flower but not landing on it. The agony he’d felt when he’d been denied permission to sit in on the autopsy or even _look _at Steve. He’s pulled out of his thoughts when a sharp floral scent hits his nose.

Roses.

Tony focuses back on the present and can’t help but laugh softly when he sees Steve holding a bouquet of blush pink roses. He’s still grinning when Steve holds the flowers out, “Congratulations on surviving.”

“Thanks for surviving me too, I guess,” he jokes as he accepts the flowers. He makes mental note to do something nice for the SHIELD agents, maybe see if he can make Taco Tuesdays a permanent menu fixture. Extremis pings softly in his left ear as the note is marked top priority and tossed to the top of his to-do list. A warm fluttery sensation blooms in his chest when Steve leans in to press a warm, dry kiss against Tony’s cheek. Flattered, and maybe a little embarrassed, Tony smiles at no one and squeezes the flowers in his hand, making the paper crinkle.

“What happened to keeping it professional?” he asks in a teasing whisper.

“It’s your last day here. Screw keeping it professional,” Steve teases back. “Besides. I think you’ve earned a few kisses after the hell you’ve gone through _and _saved us all from.”

“I can’t take all the credit for that.”

Steve’s eyes are as bluer than the wide, open sky above them. The happiness, the conviction there, steals Tony’s breath away. “Take _some _of the credit at least.”

“Okay,” Tony ducks his head, hiding his wobbly smile under the guise of smelling the roses. The sweet smell centers him but also makes his heart beat a little funny.

He looks up just in time to see Steve move towards the car. As the blond opens the passenger-side door, Tony turns to Fury and Maria. “It’s been awful, let’s _never _do this again.”

“Agreed.” Fury and him exchange a firm handshake and the tiniest of smirks. Maria nods at him.

Tony shoots a two finger salute at the rest of the agents. “Dad’s back home so, be good, kiddos.”

“Tony,” Steve sighs next to the car.

“What? I totally meant you,” Tony answers, widening his eyes to match his innocent tone. Steve shakes his head but he doesn’t hide his smile either. Tony grins as he slides into the car, keeping the flowers in his lap as he puts the seatbelt on.

Steve slides into the drivers seat. As he turns the car on, he asks, “Where to?”

Tony reaches over to take Steve’s hand in his own and squeezes. “Where else?” he asks with a grin.

His heart tightens and expands at the smile he gets in return. “Home?”

“Home.”


End file.
